Hong Kong Protests Turn DBS Wealth Deal Into Relocation Test

Tan Su Shan was in Singapore three weeks ago monitoring Hong Kong protesters through photos sent by her employees as she awaited an opening to move DBS Group Holdings Ltd.’s private bank into Societe Generale SA’s offices.

Tan, DBS’s head of wealth management, was under pressure to move the office in Hong Kong’s Central district, including client account documents, before a planned announcement at the start of the week that the purchase of Societe Generale’s Asian private bank was completed. As the streets cleared, she gave the green light at 5 a.m. Sunday morning on Oct. 5.